Iris
by Dimitri A
Summary: Slade's returned with an army of demons at his command, Raven withdraws into herself, and Robin is forced to call in reinforcements. At the same time, Dick encounters a boy he just can’t forget...is he Slade's new apprentice? (SLASH and HET)
1. Default Chapter

Iris

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Chapter Zero: Forward

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I'm reposting this again because…well the story demanded more plot and such. And I'm a slave to my tales so I was forced to obey. This is a forward, if you will, to let you all know what you're getting into before you get into it.

1) This will have homosexual content. Everything I write pretty much has it. If you don't like it I'm sure you have a back button on your browser. I can do heterosexual…stuff but I've found that on the ultra-rare occasion I try to write it I get reported. Weird, right? I mean…it's there. But it's not the main theme.

2) It will deal with elements of 'mysticism' and such. I wouldn't bother saying this except that I allowed my friend, who's Wicca, to hang over my shoulder and help me out from time to time and I no more want to offend people against that kind of thing than people heavily into it: I'm just a strange semi-Catholic kid. Don't take anything seriously; you'll just be kicking yourself in the morning. I don't know shit about anything.

3) I've gathered up some of the actual comic plotlines and woven them in with the cartoon ones, bringing forth certain characters and twists and…such.

4) This story will focus mostly on Raven, Robin, and an original character. I know, original character, scary thought, but I promise Blair is harmless. Except for the fangs and the whole 'I eat the flesh of mortals' thing. At one point it will seem Anti-Raven and it's not. I love Raven; she's a very close second on my favorite Titans list. She just does something…unsavory.

5) Demons lurk within. They aren't nice. They may appear nice but they aren't. Don't try to pet the demons or feed the demons because they'll eat you. Seriously. Fine, don't believe me but don't come whining to me if you lose a hand.

6) This might be long. I hope not but it probably will be. My mind works in mysterious ways not even known to myself. Scary innit?

7) I'm indulging in my love of Raven/Beast Boy. It's cute. If that bugs you the back browser option is still open.

8) Comic babble is present because I'm one of those sad chalk-pale types who likes to watch cartoons, anime and read comics all day. Not ashamed of it either.

And now the real summery (cause it turned out there is a lot of stuff going on):

Slade has returned and seems to have an army of demons obeying his every command. Raven withdraws into herself, fearing the future that'd been laid out for her and Robin calls in reinforcements. Meanwhile Brother Blood turns up dead and someone even worse is running the Hive Academy. In the meantime Robin encounters a boy who he just can't seem to banish from his mind anymore than he can rid himself of thoughts about Slade's new apprentice. Are they one in the same or is Robin just paranoid?

The first and second chapters still exist, but I can't promise what order they pop up in. It's everything else that's been scrapped. And, beyond that, expect something this weekend. I'm handy like that.


	2. Azeal

Iris

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Chapter One

Azeal

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Robin sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose before returning his gaze back to the computer screen. He was attempting to figure out the importance of the amulet that had gone missing the night before but had thus far come up with a lot of…nothing.

Not surprising, since he didn't know what it was called or what the damn thing looked like and the owner of the museum was beyond reluctant to tell him about it. Apparently he thought Robin could get it back without knowing anything about it.

Robin was good but he knew when he was in over his head and this was one of those times. Of course knowing he was in over his head didn't mean he wouldn't still try and figure it out.

It took him all of half a second to realize that Cyborg and Beast Boy were hovering over his shoulders trying to see the screen. He continued to skim the museum's site for a moment longer, eye twitching just slightly, before the closeness finally got to him.

He valued his personal space, what could he say?

"MOVE BACK!"

They both shrieked and leapt away from him. He growled at them and, satisfied when they cowered and whimpered, turned back to his computer. Only to find Starfire hovering, upside down no less, and reading what was on the screen.

He let out an annoyed breath. He was surrounded. Friends or not he was an inherently private person and he craved a little personal space now and then. That was why he understood Raven and why sometimes she just needed to be alone.

He was the same way.

"Starfire could you please move?"

"Of course Friend Robin." She was out of the way in a matter of seconds. He smiled at her then shut down the screen. His little check into the museum and the man that owned it would have to wait until later. Not that he was suspicious of the man or anything.

He liked to think of it as properly paranoid and wary of anything that looked slightly out of the ordinary or weird.

Speaking of weird…

The alarm went off loudly and everyone winced before glaring at Cyborg. He rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. I'll fix it as soon as I get a chance."

Cyborg had gone on an overhauling frenzy after Beast Boy had accidentally hacked his system and given him a virus. After reinforcing all of the passwords and codes on his own room he'd rewired the entire tower, citing Gizmo's (albeit brief) presence inside as a reason.

'Who knows what that little monster could have planted!'

'Whatever makes you feel more comfortable man. Just stay out of my room.'

'If you say so Rob.'

Now of course the occasional appliance and alarm and door liked to stop working, go on the blink, or just in general tried to kill you. But not necessarily in that particular order. It had been quite a while, yet things till weren't back in the order they had been before.

It kind of worked at Robin's nerves. Just a little bit.

Or…you know. A lot.

"Someone is breaking into a lab outside of town." Robin let his eyes take in the location of the lab before standing up and flexing his fingers. Beast Boy scowled.

"How much are you willing to bet it's got something to do with Slade?"

Robin had noticed that, since Terra had been trapped in stone, the youngest Titan had taken on a certain…edge. On the outside he still seemed as happy and carefree (or care**less** according to some) but other times his eyes were hard and angry. It was…sad to Robin, in a distant sort of way. He had used to look at Beast Boy and wonder if he'd ever been that childish and now… Now he wondered if Batman had watched the anger flood his eyes all those years ago like he was doing with BB now.

He didn't want Beast Boy to be like him. Hell, sometimes he didn't want to be like him.

"Let's not go making assumptions just yet." Even if this did fit Slade's usual MO. Well…Robin was loath to admit he didn't know what Slade's actual Motive or Logic was. Most of the crimes Slade had (hired others to) committed were for the sole purpose of drawing him out and taunting him. What the man was truly up to did sort of…escape him.

And now there was this thing with Raven…

It was all rather nonsensical. Kind of like Brother Blood. Sure, the guy wanted to destroy cities and take over the world and all that, but what happened after you accomplished all of that? Do you just sit back and sip a Pina Colada by the pool and pat yourself on the back or what?

He just didn't see the point in all of it.

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Robin surveyed the scenes around him carefully. Starfire and Beast Boy were giving Mammoth a serious run for his money outside of the lab. They had of course begun their little fight inside of the lab but when Beast Boy, in T-Rex form, had gone hurtling through a wall the other two had followed.

Raven and Jinx hurled magic at each other on the roof, rocking the entire building with the sheer force of their power. The fact they were on the roof and could very well bring the whole damn thing down with one misplaced spell did kind of register on his 'things to worry about' scale but there wasn't much he could do about it now.

Gizmo, hurling his usual fifth-grade level insults went flying past him and Robin could feel his hair rustle. He blinked then turned in time to see Gizmo going through a wall, his screams echoing after him. Cyborg went running after him looking disturbingly gleeful. Any minute now the insane cackling was going to begin.

His teammates were all being kept busy. And he'd been left alone.

Slade must have been craving a meeting with him.

"Hello Robin." A slightly husky voice purred.

Or not.

Robin turned slowly and regarded the figure leaning against the Cyborg shaped hole in the wall. Pale strawberry colored hair fell just so, managing to obscure one eye. The other, a mischievous gold, stared back at him and a lazy smirk quirked the other's lips. He was tall and lithe, built like a runner, and his costume was completely black save a burgundy mask, gloves, boots, and 'S' patch.

"Slade wants me to say hi." He swept into a low bow then straightened up. "Also said don't worry about the discs in the back vault. We're going to take very good care of them."

As he spoke he held up his hand and allowed four multi-colored disks to fan out. Then he moved them back together and tucked them into his waistband. He smirked then turned and ran for the stairs at the end of the hallway.

Robin smiled slightly. He knew an invitation when he saw it. He also knew this guy was in for a nasty surprise if he thought for a second he was going to get away. Robin followed him down the hallway and into the stairwell. He was slightly surprised to see the new player heading upwards, towards where Raven and Jinx were fighting. It didn't really make any sense…

But when did anything really make sense anymore? He knew, logically, that the world had gone insane around him the moment his parents died and that looking for things that made sense were just going to drive him nuts.

Not that he wasn't already a little on the…iffy side.

He ran after him, careful to keep the new player in sight but not going to fast that he became breathless. He knew better by now. If Slade was letting this guy wear his symbol he was going to be good and Robin couldn't afford to be winded when he got to the top of the stairs.

But at the same time he didn't want to leave Raven fighting two people, one of whom they knew nothing about.

The door was open and he ran threw before coming to a skidding halt, just barely managing to miss running headfirst into Raven. She turned, cloak billowing, then blinked in surprise.

"Robin?" Her eyes hardened abruptly. "I have this under control, I don't need any-"

The shadow of a figure in her eyes was the only warning Robin had before one of Jinx's hexes caught him in the back. He stumbled, a flush of heat rushing up his back and Raven made an alarmed noise before reaching out, hands glowing blue.

He felt the heat fading and was about to tell Raven to concentrate on Jinx when the girl in question went flying across the roof and hit the ground with a soft thud. She looked up, fire in her eyes and a small trail of blood oozing from her lip.

Raven looked as confused as he was. Who had hit Jinx? And where was that boy?

"You will not defy me again Jinx." Robin twisted, already expecting to see the boy. He was sitting on the edge of the roof, frowning. "Be a good girl and gather up your goofy little friends."

Jinx glared but stood up, dusting herself off. She smiled almost ironically at Raven and Robin before running from the roof and down the stairwell. Their eyes went back to the boy. He shrugged at them then sighed loudly.

"Good help is very hard to find, you know? I give the girl a task so simple a two year old could do it and what does she do? She throws hex bombs at you." He pulled his hair back from his face to reveal twinkling amber eyes. "My apologies."

Robin glared at him darkly. "You're Slade's new apprentice? Another brainwashed Hive student or did Slade trick you into joining him like his other apprentices?" He knew even as he said it that things couldn't be further from that. His eyes were too intelligent and aware for that, but more than that they lacked the struggle he'd seen within Terra.

"Nope. Unlike you and the statue-" Robin bristled and he heard Raven's growl. "I know what I'm getting into and I'm looking forward to it; I know a good deal when I see it."

"You think being Slade's puppet is a good deal?" Raven spat.

"Absolutely." His smile was just a little more twisted. "Do you think being the Big Black Bats puppet was a good deal bird-boy? Oh…I must have struck a nerve."

Robin's hand had twitched minutely, going for one of his birdarangs, before he'd been able to calm himself. It was too late now; he'd already been seen. He'd shown weakness. His opponent smirked then rose to his feet, balancing on the edge easily. He pulled the disks from his belt, fanning them out.

"Raven I have a message for you. Soon little sister, soon."

He threw the disks at them then stepped off of the ledge. Raven had gone still, almost frozen. Robin grabbed her and pulled her down, shielding them both with his cape but careful to mostly cover her. He didn't mind a little pain, but in Raven's case it could cause anything from the collapse of the building to an earthquake. She was unpredictable like that.

The explosions the discs caused were small but fierce. He could fill the blistering heat on his back and knew it was going to leave marks. It was over quickly and he threw the cape aside and stood up just in time to see something take to the sky. For a moment he thought it was Beast Boy but then the moonlight hit it, illuminating raven black wings and he knew it wasn't.

It was almost like the angels his mother had told him stories of and showed him pictures of back when he was in the circus, but darker. More sinister. In the light of the moon the other teen's skin was an even paler white, almost ethereal, and his eyes gleamed madly.

The wings gave a mighty flap and then rose higher in the sky, making a loop around the building then going into the distance. It was gone before Robin even considered trying to stop it. It wasn't that he'd never seen a person with wings.

Why had he been so startled?

"He's not human." Raven muttered, watching. Robin arched an eyebrow.

"Well, not a normal human, no. A mutant of some-"

"No!" She snarled and shook his hands off. "He's not human! He's a demon. I can feel the magic coming from him, I can feel… he isn't right." She wrapped her cape tighter around her and Robin saw her shiver just a little bit. "Not right."

Robin sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. Fantastic. Just what they needed. "C'mon, we have to get the others."

She nodded then reached out and touched him. He swallowed down a noise of panic as the shadows reached up and enveloped him. He would never get used to that…

Total darkness.

It wasn't the most comforting thing in the world, so he was glad when it receded and he was in front of the building. Beast Boy and Starfire where waiting and Cyborg seemed to be amusing himself with taunting Gizmo a few yards away.

Robin smiled slightly. "Don't torment the bad guys Cy, it's not PC."

Cyborg flashed him a large smile then nodded. He hauled Gizmo up, accidentally smacking him the back of the head, and started towards his car. "Sorry 'bout that Rob. I'll just run Sparky here by the prison."

Robin nodded then turned back to his other teammates, focusing on Raven who had her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were turned upwards, focused on the sky. Robin reached out and touched her arm lightly. He half-expected her to jump but she just stared at him then sighed.

"We should go. Bad things come out in the dark."

Beast Boy snorted. "Right Ray. 'Bad Things' can't be any worse than anything else we've seen."

"You'd be surprised." Raven's voice took on a strangely hollow note. She spared Beast Boy a glance then pulled her hood up and walked away from them. Robin watched after her for a moment then shook his head.

He wanted to go after her but knew enough to know it wasn't going to do any good right now. Beast Boy seemed to always be able to set her even more on edge than she normally was.

"Was it something I said?"

"It's always something you said BB." Robin clapped the younger teen on the back. "You'd think you'd know that by now."

"So not funny dude."

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"You've preformed well Azeal."

He smiled and flicked a strand of hair from his eyes almost absently. "Of course I did. I'm the best, that's why I'm here. I can't say the same for your other…helpers, I'm afraid."

"Yes. The students from the Hive Academy have proven to be a disappointment over and over again. Then again the academy is also a bit of a disappointment."

"Not to worry Sir, my father has plans for Hive." He smiled again but this time it seemed almost…hungry. "I'm sure you'll love the changes. Until then however I have an idea, if you don't mind. I think you'll approve of it."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The amulet I…liberated last week will open a rip to my home. Perhaps, with me as your second in command, we could lead some of the natives against the Titans."

"Hmm. Yes, I think I like that idea. Is there anything else you'll need?"

"Just a few things, here and there. You've heard of Green Lantern haven't you?"

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Next Chapter: Two heroes go missing, Slade and his new helper cause hell…literally, and a body in the bay makes Aqualad very unhappy but Cyborg wants to throw a parade…

Song: "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. I promise it has meaning beyond being a kick ass song. Promise. Not that being a kick ass song isn't enough of a reason…

Lupine: Soon is a relative term with me. I promise to update, but god only knows when.

Mechante: Hey, if you wanna pet the demons that's all on you, but I'm not taking you to the hospital if you lose something important so…there. That aside, Raven/BB is my…guilty pleasure, if you will. It makes me absurdly happy for some strange reason. Almost as happy as episodes that have Cyborg getting a lot of time. That guy gets no respect… And it lives! I told you it'd be back eventually, and now its bigger, badder, and…other stuff.


	3. Friends Say I’ve changed

Iris

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Chapter Two

Friends Say I've changed

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Robin didn't really have a lot of friends. Well to be factual…that wasn't exactly right. He had the Titans, and their various allies, but he didn't have a lot of people who knew him as Robin and Dick Grayson, what with the secret identity thing.

And, among the Titans, for Bruce's sake more than anything. He didn't care if the Titans knew who he was but he didn't want to risk exposing Bruce's identity as well. Anyone who was intelligent enough to read the paper or watch the news could make the leap from billionaire's ward Dick Grayson to billionaire Bruce Wayne. He couldn't put Bruce out there if the man didn't want anyone to know.

For the most part anyway.

In two cases exceptions had been made but he'd been nice enough to consult with Batman first. The man had agreed, mostly because he wouldn't be the only one at risk by it.

Speedy and Kid Flash, his fellow members of the 'League of Disgruntled Teenage Sidekicks', as Speedy so eloquently put it. Robin knew that under their masks were Roy Harper and Wally west, just as they knew he was Dick. There was a trust there, concerning each other and their respective mentors, and an understanding that a lot of other people really just didn't get.

Wally liked to chalk it up to mutual frustration over being sidekicks to 'bad ass' heroes and forever looking just slightly inadequate in comparison. Only those stuck in other people's shadows could really get it. A strange thing to bond over.

Plus the dysfunctional/nonexistent family issues.

Only the dysfunctional could save the world.

Still, Robin didn't really have a lot of friends and, beyond that wasn't a particularly social person by nature. Because of this he wasn't exactly fond of getting together with Titans East if they could avoid it. He was either uncomfortable while trying to make nice known Titans (to him at least) of guilty for ignoring everyone in favor of Speedy and Kid Flash the entire time. And, as if that wasn't enough reason, he thought it was just a really bad idea.

Under normal circumstances seeing the more extended branches of the Titans was considered a very bad thing, a precursor to chaos to be blunt. He liked them, yes, but he didn't want to ever seem them all at once. Nothing good could possibly come of it.

So when Star' had suggested they all get together to do 'the hanging and cooking out' he'd refused flat out and had kept refusing. Right up until she broke out the watery puppy eyes and trembling lower lip, at which point he'd relented. He just couldn't say no to something like that and he knew that she knew it.

So here he was, on the roof of the tower, and watching the teams more or less goof off together. BB, Aqualad, and Kid Flash were running/swimming a race across the bay (which Kid Flash won consistently), Cyborg was alternately wrestling with a Volleyball net and the grill, while Star' and Bee tried to talk Raven into playing with them and the twins. Speedy was with the twins, looking increasing confused by all of the Spanish they were throwing back and forth to each other.

They all seemed so at ease, save Raven who looked borderline homicidal at the moment, and he just felt so…far on the outside of things in moments like these. He just wasn't…the type of person to relax when he was in costume.

He couldn't help but feel like something was up. True, he always felt like something was about to happen but something was usually, in fact, up. So it wasn't really paranoia on his part or anything resembling paranoia; contrary to popular belief he wasn't actually paranoid.

…Well, he didn't think he was paranoid at least. He didn't think anyone was out to get him or anything. Except for Slade but that didn't count because Slade was in fact out to get him and, as of late, Raven. So that wasn't paranoia, that was simply factual.

"What's going on Robbie?" Kid Flash was at his side suddenly and it took a serious show of will power on Robin's part to not flinch away from him. "You look…kind of, you know…Blah."

Robin smiled wryly. "How…descriptive of you."

"I thought so."

"Right. How're things in Central and Keystone?"

Kid Flash shrugged. "They're…things, you know? You?"

"Same as always." He sighed and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "Slade had a new apprentice and is after Raven for one thing or another, Cy is doing an impressive job of working himself stupid over this Brother Blood thing."

Kid Flash cracked a lopsided smile. "It must be really scary for you to see something acting just as obsessive as you when you take something personally."

Robin just blinked at him mildly before looking out over the bay and the sun, which was beginning to set. "I have no idea what you're trying to say."

"Sure you don't _Dick_." Kid Flash's voice lowered enough that no one beyond them would hear his name, but Robin found himself glancing around nonetheless. "You're the poster child for all of the symptoms of OCD and you know it."

"Better OCD than ADHD. At least I've never been accused of being distracted by shiny objects." Robin shot back, unable to quite hide his smile. This was, after all, how he, Kid Flash, and Speedy communicated with each other.

Speedy was an obvious smart ass and just about everyone and their mother was aware of it. Most people, however didn't realize that under the slightly vacant look and rapid fire pointless babble there was a legitimately intelligent and bitingly sarcastic mind. To a certain degree anyway.

Wally was really just unbelievably honest to a point that Robin could never really know when he may have been lying because it was just…hard to wrap his mind around. His honesty was often misinterpreted as sarcasm when it was more…well totally blunt honesty no matter what. When things were bad Wally had never been inclined to sugar coat them, not really seeing the point.

Everything they said to each other was somewhere between nasty and amusing, but never meant to be taken seriously in any manner.

"Tales of my distraction are greatly exaggerated." Kid Flash said finally, tilting his head off to the head just slightly. "Anyway. Speedy wanted me to ask if you're doing anything tonight."

"Maybe patrolling or something." Robin shrugged slightly. He'd been planning to patrol, check in with Bruce, do his homework, and then work out before going to bed. His life was…well, kind of boring as far as things beyond school and the whole 'Robin' thing.

"Cool. Speedy wants to go out."

"Ah. So we can watch him run off with some bimbo yet again. Sounds like fun." Robin deadpanned even as he began to rearrange his intended schedule. "Where's he wanna go?"

"Clubbing." Green eyes slid over to the side so he was no longer looking directly at Robin. "In Gotham, if you think Bats won't kill us."

Robin mentally shuddered as he envisioned the look Bruce would give him when he found out he was approving of other heroes 'invading' their turf. It was going to get ugly, no doubt about that.

He nodded. "Sure."

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Azeal stretched, back cracking as he did so. He smiled crookedly at his captives, a white man in a white and green costume and another man in all red, with a lightening bolt over his chest. In his hand he was holding a ring with a lantern engraved on it.

Neither one looked pleased.

"Hello. It's…Barry and Scott, isn't it?" He smiled wider at the startled look on their faces which quickly gave way to a kind of fear. Azeal was well aware of why. Barry, also known as Flash, had a lovely wife by the name of Iris and his wife's nephew to worry about and Scott, also called Green Lantern, had a wife and a daughter.

If he knew who they were it would make sense that he also knew about their families. He had them at his mercy. …not that chaining them to the wall with magical bonds hadn't had them at his mercy already, but it was a lot less kinky when he was holding something legitimate over them.

Not that kinky was bad…

"You're probably wondering what I'm holding you for." He said keeping his tone light and conversational. "To put it bluntly I need your energy. Each of you is a virtual limitless battery just waiting to be tapped and, as I need a good deal of organic energy to open a portal into what you would consider hell I intend to tap you."

As he spoke he began to light the red candles he'd arranged in a triangle in the room. He approached the two men and touched the black agate stones he'd hang around their necks before nodding to himself and going to the center of the triangle and sitting down. He set the ring just in front of the candle at the top of the triangle on top of the piece of aventurine he'd placed there before.

Yep, that seemed to be everything.

"Now, just focus on…being good batteries."

This was a strangely simple spell, considering what he was about to do. A piece of white chalk in hand he began to chant while connecting the three candles with thick white lines.

"I command the doorway to open."

The ground beneath him trembled as his 'batteries' screamed. They shuddered, convulsing violently before beams of shimmery black light came bursting from the stones around their necks and the light from Scott went through the ring. They went limp in their binds and the light hit the candle at the top before going splintering towards the other two, following the chalk outline. They meet again between the two candles at the base. He stood, hopping out of the triangle just as the ground turned translucent. He peered down into two pairs of glowing red eyes. He smiled slightly.

"Father."

He got a feral smile in reply and a nod of approval before the ground once again went opaque.

He smirked then turned to walk back to his captives. He prodded them curiously, tilting his head off to the side. Neither moved and already the skin was starting to go cold.

Well…damn. That was going to be a bitch to explain to Slade.

Oh well.

He whistled for one of the robbed beings he knew would be standing outside of the doors of his chambers. Gab demons, they were appalling stupid but strong and loyal to anyone willing to put up with them for long periods of time.

"Get rid of these bodies. Throw them wherever you put Blood."

"Yes Master Azeal."

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Uh…that other stuff will be next chapter, promise. Sorry it's short but I was working during school and…yeah.

Mechante: I have heard about Wonder Woman (I'm pulling for a Diana of color but everyone keeps insisting she has to be white. Meh.) and somehow I doubt Joss wants to hear from a seventeen year old from Jersey…but, who knows, maybe I'll be doing my own comic based movie one day. That'd be so cool… So, here I am, killing more people. But this paves the way for John to come to Earth, what with the other Lantern dying and all, and Wally to become 'Flash'.

Saturn: Hitchhiker was awesome, I understand. And yes, the last chapter (though edited) had been posted before. This chapter is all new stuff.

MAY: Raven is with BB and Robin is…well, Robin will be trying to not lose his mind while sorting out the truth of a certain boy who will be dropping in next chapter.

Moon: I'm glad you did…


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